jinkx monsoon on tour

Jinkx Monsoon Announces 'Everything at Stake' Tour Dates

The public on-sale will take place Friday, February 24 at 9 a.m. local time.

The Queen of all Queens is ready to cast her next great spell! Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner and Broadway breakout star Jinkx Monsoon will launch her biggest tour to date with Jinkx Monsoon: Everything at Stake.

After Monsoon finishes up her run as Matron 'Mama' Morton in Chicago on Broadway on March 12, her summer tour will perform in 44 cities across the U.S. and Canada from June 12 - August 14.

For the first time ever, Jinkx and her musical main squeeze Major Scales will tour with a full rock band performing a decades' worth of covers and original music from her critically-acclaimed albums (The Ginger Snapped, The Inevitable Album), along with new songs from her upcoming 3-part album The Virgo Odyssey.

Known for her electric and eclectic performance style, "Everything at Stake" shows Jinkx weaving together tales from her enigmatic life in a show where music, comedy, witchy magic, and camp-fantasy collide. At a time where literally everything is at stake, get ready for a spellbinding, bombastic, and revolutionary experience straight from the heart of this "internationally tolerated" superstar.

Registration for the "Everything at Stake" Artist Presale begins at 9 a.m. PST here , and registered users will receive presale codes on Wednesday, February 22nd at 12 p.m. PST. The public on-sale will take place Friday, February 24 at 9 a.m. local time here .

Monsoon says, "It's all been building to this! 'Everything at Stake' marks my biggest concert tour ever- where I get to flex every one of my performance muscles with my musical partner in crime, Major Scales. What's most exciting is, we're coming to over 40 cities across North America, many of which will be for the FIRST TIME! I know, crazy, right? In these tumultuous times, it's important to unapologetically claim our space as queer and trans people; to celebrate the revolutionary act of drag and living one's truth. I'm getting my broom ready, I can't wait to see you soon. Mama loves you."

The tour announcement comes during a whirlwind year for Monsoon. In January, she made her Broadway debut (a lifelong goal since she began doing drag at 15) in one of the longest running shows on Broadway-Chicago-playing Matron "Mama" Morton.

She kicked off her press tour for Chicago by becoming the first RuPaul's Drag Race queen to guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers, which quickly went viral when it hit online for her celebrity impressions. She's also recently appeared on CBS Mornings, Good Morning America.

Last summer, Jinkx competed on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 7, becoming the first drag queen in Drag Race "herstory" to win the crown twice, earning the coveted title "Queen of All Queens" in a competition against previous winners. Her most recent tour was the critically-acclaimed theatrical spectacular, "The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show" (Produced by BenDeLaCreme Presents) co-starring with her best friend and fellow drag superstar, BenDeLaCreme.

The 2022 tour became their highest grossing holiday tour to date and is expected to return for its 6th year this holiday season. Jinkx also released her latest studio EP, The Virgo Odyssey: Prologue (PEG Records), spawning cult hits like "Know-It-All" and her dazzling cover of "Strange Magic" by Electric Light Orchestra.

The "Jinkx Monsoon: Everything at Stake" tour is produced by the AEG Presents Comedy Division in association with the Producer Entertainment Group (PEG).

Jinkx Monsoon Tour Dates

June 12 - Victoria, BC (Royal Theatre)

June 13 - Vancouver, BC (Orpheum Theatre)

June 16 - Calgary, AB (Southern Jubilee Auditorium)

June 18 - Edmonton, AB (Northern Jubilee Auditorium)

June 20 - Regina, SK (Conexus Art Center)

June 21 - Winnipeg, MB (Burton Cummings Theatre)

June 23 - Toronto, ON (Massey Hall)

June 24 - Kitchener, ON (Centre in the Square)

June 25 - Ottawa, ON (Southam Hall)

June 26 - Montreal, QC (Olympia De Montreal)

June 28 - Albany, NY (The Egg)

June 29 - New Haven, CT (College Street Music Hall)

June 30 - Boston, MA (Shubert Theatre)

July 1 - Brooklyn, NY (Kings Theatre)

July 5 - Durham, NC (Carolina Theatre)

July 6 - Tysons, VA (Capital One Hall)

July 7 - Glenside, PA (Keswick Theatre)

July 8 - Cleveland, OH (The Agora)

July 9 - Pittsburgh, PA (Stage AE)

July 11 - Columbus, OH (KEMBA Live!)

July 12 - Royal Oak, MI (Royal Oak Music Hall)

July 14 - Chicago, IL (Chicago Theatre)

July 15 - Milwaukee, Wi (Pabst Theater)

July 16 - St. Paul, MN (The Fitzgerald Theater)

July 18 - Newport, KY (MegaCorp Pavillion)

July 19 - Charlotte, NC (Knight Theater at Levine Center for the Arts)

July 20 - Atlanta, GA (The Eastern)

July 22 - Tampa, FL (Tampa Theatre)

July 23 - Orlando, FL (Hard Rock Live)

July 24 - Coral Springs, FL (Coral Springs Center)

July 26 - New Orleans, LA (The Orpheum)

July 27 - Austin, TX (Paramount Theatre)

July 28 - Dallas, TX (Majestic Theater)

July 29 - Kansas City, MO (Folly Theater)

July 30 - Midwest City, OK (Rose State College Hudiberg Chevrolet Center)

August 1 - Denver, CO (Ellie Caulkins Opera House)

August 2 - Salt Lake City, UT (Eccles Theater)

August 6 - San Diego, CA (The Balboa Theatre)

August 8 - Los Angeles, CA (The Orpheum Theatre)

August 9 - San Jose, CA (California Theatre)

August 10 - San Francisco, CA (Warfield Theatre)

August 12 - Seattle, WA (Paramount Theatre)

August 13 - Spokane, WA (Martin Woldson Theater at the Fox)

August 14 - Portland, OR (Keller Auditorium)

About Jinkx Monsoon

Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner and Broadway breakout star Jinkx Monsoon (she/her) is the "internationally tolerated" drag icon who's taken over the entertainment industry as an award-winning stage actress, acclaimed vocalist, stand-up comic, and theatre sensation.

Jinkx has garnered an international fan base following her win on RuPaul's Drag Race Season 5 (2013), and continued her winning streak on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 7 (2022) where she was crowned "Queen of All Queens", competing against previous winners. In 2023, Jinkx made her highly-anticipated Broadway debut as Matron "Mama" Morton in Broadway's longest-running show, Chicago.

She has toured the world performing her original cabaret shows with music partner Major Scales, including highly-acclaimed shows like The Ginger Snapped, The Vaudevillians (which became a hit off-broadway sensation) and their most recent production, Together Again, Again (2022). As a recording artist, Jinkx has released three critically-hailed albums of original music written by Major Scales including her most recent The Virgo Odyssey (2022), The Inevitable Album and The Ginger Snapped.

In 2018, she partnered with best friend and fellow RuPaul's Drag Race star, BenDeLaCreme for their first major holiday tour To Jesus, Thanks for Everything! - Jinkx and DeLa. Jinkx and DeLa's co-written holiday productions have grown into a worldwide phenomenon, spawning the 2019 tour, All I Want for Christmas is Attention, a Hulu holiday hit, The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Special (2020), and The Return of the Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show, LIVE! (2021) which performed for sold-out audiences across the U.S., U.K. and Canada. In 2022, she and DeLa had their highest grossing international tour to date with their 5th annual The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show.

No stranger to film and TV, Jinkx has appeared on the CBS cop drama Blue Bloods, the Netflix original AJ and the Queen, and has voiced characters for such animated shows as Steven Universe, Mighty Magiswords, Bravest Warriors, as well as a few surprises that are yet to come! Jinkx has been the subject of two documentaries: Drag Becomes Him, and The Queens.

She is an award-winning stage actress, having won the Gregory Award for her portrayal of Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and most recently, The MAC Award for her show The Ginger Snapped, co-written with Major Scales.

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Jinkx Monsoon, BenDeLaCreme reveal new Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show tour dates for 2022

RuPaul's Drag Race icons, performance artists, and holiday legends exclusively reveal their 2022 tour dates for a new version of their beloved holiday show.

Drag icons Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme are ready to jingle your bells this holiday season with a new version of their beloved Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show live spectacular — and EW has the exclusive reveal of the pair's 2022 tour dates.

The new traveling stage show — written by Jinkx and DeLa — will visit 22 cities across North America between Nov. 23 and Dec. 30, with DeLa directing from a production she worked on through her BenDeLaCreme Presents company alongside Kevin Heard and Gus Lanza.

"It will take everything you expect from a drag queen variety show, and spin it on its side. It will test the limits of stupidity, while being unexpectedly deep and reflective. We strive for entertainment while always proving that the holidays are for you to celebrate however you want to," Jinkx says in an exclusive statement to EW about the new show, which follows her legendary run on the current season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 7 , while Drag Race All Stars 3 alum DeLa promises "nonstop laughs, biting social commentary, dazzling spectacle, and that special Jinkx and Dela brand of over-the-top camp."

"The one thing that always remains the same is that our show is about the importance of friendship, chosen family, and creating our own holiday traditions," DeLa adds. "And creating our own traditions means always staying present with what has worked in the past and what needs some freshening up, and that's true of entertainment too! We want to give our audiences a place to go that can be reliably fun, exciting, and bring something new to their season in addition to comfort and familiarity. Every year we take an honest look at ourselves and the world around us, and create new material that reflects back our common experience. We want people to feel entertained and seen!"

The 2022 edition of The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show follows the duo's successful domination of the holiday season across multiple projects, including their prior tours To Jesus, Thanks for Everything and All I Want for Christmas Is Attention , guest roles in Clea DuVall's Kristen Stewart-starring Christmas rom-com Happiest Season , and a film version of The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show , which streamed on Hulu through the holidays in 2020.

General on-sale for The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show 2022 North American tour dates begin today at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT on the queens' website . United Kingdom dates will be revealed in the near future.

The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show 2022 tour dates:

Nov. 23 — Buffalo, NY (Riviera Theatre) Nov. 25 — Toronto, ON (Queen Elizabeth Theatre) Nov. 26 — Ottawa, ON (Algonquin Commons Theatre) Nov. 27 — Montreal, QC (Olympia) Nov. 29 — Boston, MA (Chevalier Theatre) Nov. 30 — Philadelphia, PA (The Fillmore) Dec. 2 — New York, NY (Town Hall) Dec. 3 — New York, NY (Town Hall) Dec. 4 — Washington, DC (Lincoln Theatre) Dec. 6 — St. Paul, MN (The Fitzgerald Theater) Dec. 7 — Chicago, IL (Auditorium Theatre) Dec. 8 — Detroit, MI (Royal Oak Music Theatre) Dec. 9 — Indianapolis (Murat Theatre at Old National Centre) Dec. 11 — Austin, TX (Paramount Theatre) Dec. 12 —Dallas, TX (Majestic Theatre) Dec. 14 —Denver, CO (Paramount Theatre) Dec. 16 — San Diego, CA (Balboa Theatre) Dec. 17 — San Francisco, CA (The Warfield) Dec. 18 — Los Angeles, CA (Orpheum Theatre) Dec. 21 — Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre) Dec. 22 — Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre) Dec. 23 — Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre) Dec. 24 — Seattle, WA (Moore Theatre) Dec. 27 — Portland, OR (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall) Dec. 29 — Calgary, AB (Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium) Dec. 30 — Vancouver, BC (Vogue Theatre)

Entertainment Weekly' s Ultimate Guide to RuPaul is available online or wherever magazines are sold.

Subscribe to EW's BINGE podcast for full recaps of RuPaul's Drag Race , including weekly All Stars 7 recaps and reactions with the cast, special guests, and more.

Related content:

• Jinkx Monsoon reveals why she isn't saying 'water off a duck's back' on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 7
• Dave reacts to Jinkx Monsoon's Judy Garland Snatch Game on RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 7
• BenDeLaCreme and Kennedy Davenport recall chaos after RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 3 self-elimination

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She's 'filthy, raunchy': How Jinkx Monsoon gets intimate and candid in her stand-up shows

Corrections & Clarifications: Jinkx Monsoon has been sober for three years. An earlier version of this article misstated the length of time.

It’s monsoon season — in more ways than one.

In July, drag superstar Jinkx Monsoon, 34, was crowned the Queen of All Queens on Season 7 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars.” Two months after her historic win, she will be making highly anticipated appearances in Phoenix.

The “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 5 champion from 2013 won “All Stars” this summer among an all-winners cast from previous seasons — and has the scepter to prove that she is the ultimate queen in “Drag Race” “herstory.”

Suffice it to say, she’s been busy since claiming the title.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

“I have worked pretty much nonstop since the finale,” she told The Arizona Republic. “A lot of the things that got canceled for COVID have all coalesced at the same very busy moment in time for me. So it's been a lot of work, but I'm very content.”

However, she’s found time to do a handful of stand-up comedy shows before she jets off on the Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Tour.

On Thursday, Sept. 15, she will be in downtown Phoenix for two stand-up shows at Stand Up Live (the 7 p.m. slot sold out, so the venue added a second show at 9:30 p.m. ) and will make a sold-out special appearance at Kobalt Bar in Phoenix on Friday, Sept. 16.

She promises that her sets will be “filthy, raunchy, funny (and) boisterous,” so the shows are for age 18 and older.

Paying it forward: After monkeypox, this Phoenix drag queen is making care kits

What to expect at Jinkx Monsoon’s stand-up show

Jinkx believes that “RuPaul’s Drag Race” fans got to see “Jinkx the human being” on screen. In reality, however, “I’m filthy.”

“Jinkx the character is so much … filthier and unhinged,” she said.

Don’t say you haven’t been warned. Jinkx’s stand-up show is a “very intimate, candid show” full of anecdotes from her sex life, the celebrity drag queen lifestyle and the days when she used to drink. (Jinkx is three   years sober.)

“What I love about doing stand-up in drag is that I am sharing stories from my real life, but through the filter and through the lens of Jinkx Monsoon the character,” she said. “So it's all being delivered in the most filthy, raunchy, funny, boisterous, over-the-top way possible.”

However silly her material might be, Jinkx takes herself seriously as someone representing a marginalized community in the realm of comedy.

All winners: 'RuPaul's Drag Race' All Stars 7 cast spills tea on the season

Jinkx Monsoon brings 'queer representation' to stand-up comedy

Jinkx, who grew up in Portland and came out as gay at 13, grew up in a space where they felt safe coming out as a teenager. (Jinkx Monsoon is transfeminine nonbinary and uses she and they pronouns.) In an interview with Autostraddle this year , she credited Portland’s Sexual Minority Youth Resource Center  for being “involved in queer politics and queer issues” from an early age.

Growing up with support from her community and relatives has influenced Jinkx’s humor, including how she reads (also known as roasts) other drag queens.

“I really love having grown up in the queer community and learning what's funny from other queer people, because I don't think a lot of queer comics practice punching down,” she said. “I think (BenDeLaCreme) said it best, like, if you can't be funny without attacking marginalized communities, then you probably weren't that funny to begin with.”

Jinkx refuses to go for the low-hanging fruit, she said, because “true humor” comes from making jokes about someone’s personality — not their attributes, demographics or “what society places on this person.”

When it comes to stand-up, Jinkx Monsoon isn’t the only drag queen doing comedy sets at major venues. “RuPaul's Drag Race” Season 8 winner Bob the Drag Queen performed at Stand Up Live Phoenix this year, for example. Though Jinkx believes most drag queens “are already stand-up comedians just in what we do in our work,” she is among a minority in the comedy profession.

“There's no reason why drag queens shouldn't also be participating in the stand-up comedy world, which we know is dominated by cis straight men,” Jinkx said.

“So to be someone who's bringing more queer stories and queer representation to the stand-up comedy world, I feel so lucky to be at this point in my career — where I'm doing a little bit of everything and showing that drag queens are everything we claim to be.”

Phoenix's first 'Drag Race' queen: Joey Jay is a 'queen who loves to make fun of herself'

More voice acting is in Jinkx Monsoon’s future

Jinkx’s schedule mainly consists of live performances — comedic, theatrical and musical — and they will remain as her focus. She will continue to work with musical partner Major Scales and fellow “Drag Race” alumna and Pacific Northwesterner BenDeLaCreme, who’s the other half of the Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Tour.

Bu there are other avenues of entertainment that she’s continuing to explore. She’s done some voice acting in the past few years, lending her voice to animated series such as “Steven Universe” and “Helluva Boss.”

“I've been taking more trips into the studio for animated voice acting appearances, none of which I can talk about, but I can just say I am truly excited for some things that are down the line,” Jinkx said.

“I'm still very green in that realm, but I am excited that the voice acting world and the animated world has started to give me bigger moments to shine and trusted me with bigger projects recently.”

She will also continue to lend her talents to live-action productions. Jinkx’s acting credits include playing a drag queen named Em K. Ultra in Hulu’s 2020 rom-com “Happiest Season,” and her sketch comedy series, “Sketchy Queens,” will premiere on the streaming service WOW Presents Plus on Sept. 15

“From this point moving forward, I'm going to be going for a lot more auditions, because I really want my future to be in scripted acting work,” she said. “I want to be able to split my focus between doing scripted acting work as an individual and then continuing to generate original work with my collaborators.”

Whether she’s on stage, filming a movie or TV series or playing an animated character, she knows that “my entire life has led up to me doing what I do right now.”

“The one thing I've been most certain of in my entire time on this Earth is that I belong in entertainment, and that's the best way for me to create positive change within my community and within the world at large.

“If I had no voice at all I'll find a way to still get on that stage and express myself.”

September shows: The best and biggest concerts coming to metro Phoenix

Where to see Jinkx Monsoon in 2022

Her Stand Up Live appearance won't be the only opportunity to see Jinkx in Phoenix.

On Friday, Sept. 16, she will also make a special sold-out appearance  in central Phoenix at Kobalt Bar 's weekly  4Some Revue drag show , which stars Joey Jay, Toothpick, Gia DeMilo, Mynx DeMilo and Salem Vee DeMilo.

After Phoenix, Jinkx has two stand-up shows at the Punchline Comedy Club in Sacramento, California, before going on tour for the Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Show.

Here are the U.S. dates for the Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Show in 2022:

• Nov. 23: Buffalo, New York (Riviera Theatre) .
• Nov. 25: Toronto (Queen Elizabeth Theatre).
• Nov. 26: Ottawa (Algonquin Commons Theatre).
• Nov. 27: Montreal (Olympia).
• Nov. 29: Boston (Chevalier Theatre).
• Nov. 30: Philadelphia (The Fillmore).
• Dec. 2: New York City (Town Hall).
• Dec. 3: New York City (Town Hall).
• Dec. 4: Washington DC (Lincoln Theatre).
• Dec. 6: St. Paul, Minnesota (The Fitzgerald Theater).
• Dec. 7: Chicago (Auditorium Theatre).
• Dec. 8: Detroit (Royal Oak Music Theatre).
• Dec. 9: Indianapolis (Murat Theatre at Old National Centre).
• Dec. 11: Austin, Texas (Paramount Theatre)
• Dec. 12: Dallas (Majestic Theatre).
• Dec. 14: Denver (Paramount Theatre).
• Dec. 16: San Diego (Balboa Theatre).
• Dec. 17: San Francisco (The Warfield).
• Dec. 18: Los Angeles (Orpheum Theatre).
• Dec. 21-24: Seattle (Moore Theatre).
• Dec. 27: Portland, Oregon (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall).
• Dec. 29: Calgary, Canada (Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium).
• Dec. 30: Vancouver, Canada (Vogue Theatre).

Jinkx Monsoon at Stand Up Live Phoenix

Where: Stand Up Live Phoenix, 50 W. Jefferson St., Phoenix.

When: 7 and 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 15.

Admission: $35 general admission, $80 VIP (includes reserved seating and meet & greet).

Note: The show is 18 and up.

Details:  480-719-6100,  https://phoenix.standuplive.com .

Reach Entertainment Reporter KiMi Robinson at [email protected] . Follow her on Twitter @kimirobin  and Instagram @ReporterKiMi .

Support local journalism. Subscribe to azcentral.com today .

JINKX MONSOON

Everything At Stake

SATURDAY, JULY 1

8:00 PM | Doors open 7:00 PM

The Witch of all Witches is ready to cast her next great spell! Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner and Broadway breakout star Jinkx Monsoon presents her biggest concert tour to date with "Everything at Stake."

For the first time ever, Jinkx and her musical main squeeze Major Scales, will tour North America with a full rock band performing a decade worth of covers and original music from her critically-acclaimed albums (The Ginger Snapped, The Inevitable Album), along with new songs from her upcoming 3-part album The Virgo Odyssey. Known for her electric and eclectic performance style, Jinkx weaves together tales from her enigmatic life in a show where music, comedy, witchy magic, and camp-fantasy collide. At a time where literally everything is at stake, get ready for a spellbinding, bombastic, and revolutionary experience straight from the heart of this "internationally tolerated" superstar.

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Jinkx Monsoon: Everything at Stake

• Date July 6 , 2023
• Doors Open 7:00 PM
• Venue Main Theater
• Ticket Prices Tickets Start At $52.50
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Event Details

This Show is Age Restricted – 18+

The Witch of all Witches is ready to cast her next great spell! Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner and Broadway breakout star Jinkx Monsoon presents her biggest concert tour to date with "Everything at Stake." For the first time ever, Jinkx and her musical main squeeze Major Scales, will tour North America with a full rock band performing a decade worth of covers and original music from her critically-acclaimed albums (The Ginger Snapped, The Inevitable Album), along with new songs from her upcoming 3-part album The Virgo Odyssey. Known for her electric and eclectic performance style, Jinkx weaves together tales from her enigmatic life in a show where music, comedy, witchy magic, and camp-fantasy collide. At a time where literally everything is at stake, get ready for a spell binding, bombastic, and revolutionary experience straight from the heart of this "internationally tolerated" superstar.

_______________

Two-time RuPaul’s Drag Race winner and Broadway breakout star Jinkx Monsoon (she/her) is the “internationally tolerated” drag icon who’s taken over the entertainment industry as an award-winning stage actress, acclaimed vocalist, stand-up comic, and theatre sensation. 

Jinkx has garnered an international fan base following her win on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 5 (2013), and continued her winning streak on RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 7 (2022) where she was crowned “Queen of All Queens”, competing against previous winners. In 2023, Jinkx made her highly-anticipated Broadway debut as Matron “Mama” Morton in Broadway’s longest-running show, Chicago. 

She has toured the world performing her original cabaret shows with music partner Major Scales , including highly-acclaimed shows like The Ginger Snapped , The Vaudevillians (which became a hit off-broadway sensation) and their most recent production, Together Again, Again (2022).  As a recording artist, Jinkx has released three critically-hailed albums of original music written by Major Scales including her most recent The Virgo Odyssey (2022) , The Inevitable Album and The Ginger Snapped. 

In 2018, she partnered with best friend and fellow RuPaul’s Drag Race star, BenDeLaCreme for their first major holiday tour To Jesus, Thanks for Everything! - Jinkx and DeLa . Jinkx and DeLa’s co-written holiday productions have grown into a worldwide phenomenon, spawning the 2019 tour, All I Want for Christmas is Attention , a Hulu holiday hit, The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Special (2020), and The Return of the Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show, LIVE! (2021) which performed for sold-out audiences across the U.S., U.K. and Canada. In 2022, she and DeLa  had their highest grossing international tour to date with their 5th annual The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show. 

No stranger to film and TV, Jinkx has appeared on the CBS cop drama Blue Bloods , the Netflix original AJ and the Queen , and has voiced characters for such animated shows as Steven Universe , Mighty Magiswords , Bravest Warriors , as well as a few surprises that are yet to come! Jinkx has been the subject of two documentaries: Drag Becomes Him , and The Queens . She is an award-winning stage actress, having won the Gregory Award for her portrayal of Hedwig in Hedwig and the Angry Inch , and most recently, The MAC Award for her show The Ginger Snapped , co-written with Major Scales

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Holidays a Drag? Every Year, Thanks to Jinkx and DeLa.

The “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alums Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme put on a queer, clever and heartfelt Christmas show that keeps getting bigger.

What began in small standing-room-only clubs has grown into a 30-city theater tour for Jinkx Monsoon, left, and BenDeLaCreme. Credit... Justin J Wee for The New York Times

Supported by

By Caryn Ganz

• Dec. 12, 2023

It was half past 3 the day after the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting, and a pair of America’s most famous drag queens strode up to the spruce’s formidable footprint, chatting about abundance.

“I don’t like being inundated with anything,” Jinkx Monsoon announced as holiday music jingled loudly nearby.

“She has this conversation about Christianity,” BenDeLaCreme started to explain, before Jinkx resumed her gripe: “Christianity, the Kardashians and ‘Star Wars,’” she chimed back in. “All things that I have never asked to know about, but I know everything about.”

The reason for their visit, however, was indeed the season. For the fifth year, the duo — both alums of the TV competition “RuPaul’s Drag Race” — are presenting a live Christmas show filled with dancing candy canes, glittery gowns and songs about trauma. (In 2020, Covid forced them off the road, so they made a movie .) What began in small standing-room-only clubs has grown into a 30-city theater tour that kicked off mid-November in Glasgow and wraps in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Dec. 30. The day after the queens’ stroll, on Dec. 1, their show hit Kings Theater in Brooklyn, a former movie palace that seats 3,000.

“I’ve been around for a while,” said Murray Hill , a fixture on downtown drag, burlesque and cabaret stages who’s done his own delightfully queer Christmas show for around 25 years. “I can’t believe in my lifetime that I went to go see two drag queens at a huge theater like that in New York. It’s progress!”

The latest iteration of “The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show” is its most ambitious yet: an hour and a half of gags that lean naughty and inspirational messages that make it nice. It includes a Fosse-style number skewering the nearly orgasmic satisfaction Americans get from shopping, and one about sex with Krampus set to a beloved seasonal tune. Like its predecessors, it’s queer, hilarious, clever and heartfelt — a fitting reflection of the two performers who made it.

DeLa, as the 42-year-old BenDeLaCreme is known, grew up in “rural and idyllic” Connecticut, where she felt like an outcast — dying her hair different colors, being mocked in English class for writing “these insane things about, like, purple dragons,” which, she pointed out, is a direct link to what she does onstage now.

Jinkx, 36, is from Portland, Ore., and attended a magnet arts high school, “so we were all freaking freaks,” she said. “But I’ve been visibly queer my whole life,” she added. (She identifies as trans feminine.) “Even though I wasn’t necessarily an outcast, it was just a whole life of being told I’m just too much. And drag is the one place where you can’t be too much.” She let out her signature giggle, which is only a touch wicked.

For a middle school talent show, Jinkx dressed as a woman and told crass jokes — and the rest, as they say, is herstory. She developed a psychic persona named Miss Lily and improvised reading classmates’ and teachers’ fortunes: “Before I even really knew what drag was, I already had a drag character.”

In the late 2000s, while Jinkx was studying theater at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, DeLa was becoming established as a drag innovator in the city after attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Jinkx’s favorite teacher, the performance artist Keira McDonald, insisted she go see DeLa, and told DeLa about her gifted mentee.

DeLa caught one of Jinkx’s shows first: an early version of “The Vaudevillians,” in which Jinkx and her musical partner Major Scales portray an old-timey duo who are thawed out after being frozen alive, returning with their “original” versions of contemporary pop songs. The 4 p.m. set was at one of Seattle’s less heralded venues.

“As a performer, Jinkx is miraculous to behold,” DeLa said. “And I was beholding it in a Starbucks.” She remembered thinking she’d either have to align with Jinkx or risk becoming adversaries exploring similar ideas.

“She handed me a paper business card,” Jinkx recalled of this first meeting, “and I was like, this is the most professional drag queen I have ever met.” Cue the giggle.

Jinkx was likewise floored when she first saw DeLa live, doing an imaginative piece about a queen trying to perform the Charlene song “I’ve Never Been to Me” as a skipping CD thwarted her. (DeLa lip synced not just to the song, but to the edited skips and all the ensuing dialogue with the D.J. as she fought to carry on with the show.)

BenDeLaCreme had studied visual art, but found she had a knack for performance — and, crucially, the organizing and bean-counting that goes into making performances happen. She was already running a production company; Jinkx rushed to audition for one of its shows, and the seeds of a dream team were sown.

Drag has long been an underground art form buoyed by its own lingo, networks and irrepressible joy — crucial elements since its practitioners are often scraping to make a buck in the unstable nightlife business while enduring homophobia or transphobia, and the accompanying emotional impacts.

Nothing has done more to take drag to a wider audience than “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” which started in 2009 and now has international adaptations in Thailand, Brazil, Australia and Sweden, among other places. In 2013, Jinkx won its fifth season and rocketed to national attention. She came home, sat DeLa down and told her she needed to do the show “because I knew that what she would do with the exposure is exactly what she’s done,” she said, “which is build her production company and start doing what she was doing in Seattle worldwide.”

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” helped entrench them as characters: Jinkx as a boozy witch with a big voice and a deep reserve of uproarious impressions; DeLa as a comedic powerhouse with classic pinup looks who never misses her mark. Both have benefited from its spotlight, although “we both had to do two seasons to get where we wanted,” Jinkx pointed out. (They returned for all-star competitions.) Earlier this year, Jinkx fulfilled a dream, starring in Broadway’s “Chicago” as Matron “Mama” Morton , where her arrival onstage each night was met with such rapturous applause, she created a bit where she impatiently glanced at a pocket watch.

Four blocks from the Ambassador Theater, where fans swarmed Jinkx nightly at the stage door, she and BenDeLaCreme concluded their meander through Midtown’s merry landmarks at the Museum of Broadway. After a morning in red velvet suits and wigs piled a mile high, they were dressed down in dark sweaters, a tuft of DeLa’s black hair peeking out from a knit hat, and a scarf twisting around Jinkx’s neck.

BenDeLaCreme’s history with holiday shows dates back to 2008, when she started one largely so she could avoid going home at what had become a challenging time of year. “When I was really little, I loved the holidays,” she said. She lost her mother to cancer when she was 13, and “things changed very rapidly.” The Christmas show became “a way to find something I loved, a way to find a sense of homecoming that I didn’t feel I had access to,” she explained. Audiences looking for their own soft places to land were grateful.

Murray Hill said the message of “chosen family” that permeates “The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show” is familiar. “A lot of gay people growing up, and anybody who’s quote unquote, a misfit, had a rough time at the holidays,” he said. “Drag queens, drag performers, gay performers — we have Santa-like qualities,” he continued, listing them off: “A larger-than-life personality. We bring gifts, we entertain, we make everybody forget about how bad everything is.”

“Camp humor does address important things, which they did in the show,” he added. And as a duo, he said, they recall Mike Nichols and Elaine May, or Louis Prima and Keely Smith. (“I always say we’re like Lucy and Ethel if it was both Lucy,” Monsoon quipped.)

The pairings that resonate most with Jinkx and DeLa — Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley of “Absolutely Fabulous,” or the comics Kathy Najimy and Mo Gaffney — originate in genuine friendship. “Yes, we have our solo careers, but I personally feel like I am always at my best and I’m showing off my skills the best when paired with DeLa,” Jinkx said. They unlock something in each other, and audiences recognize it: “I think it’s just friendship.”

A few things are different in this year’s show. In the past, the script’s arc was built on tension between Jinkx and DeLa. This time, the two are united as they try to tame a common enemy: the show itself. (Yes, it’s meta, but it’s hysterical.)

“There’s far too much conflict out there around us,” DeLa told the crowd at Kings Theater during the curtain call. “There is far too much negativity, and we don’t need to be pitting ourselves against each other within our own community. Let’s break out of that mind-set and lift each other up.”

There was also a big shift behind the scenes: Jinkx quit drinking (it was “standing in the way of me being my best self”), and her onstage character did, too. The members of the core production team — the two stars, plus Kevin Heard and Gus Lanza of BenDeLaCreme Presents — are still doing about six jobs apiece, but they have reinforcements, their biggest cast and crew yet.

While other Jinkx and DeLa projects are surely on the horizon, the holiday show will remain an anchor. “It has become really important to a lot of people, and that’s the most fulfilling thing,” DeLa said. “People who are like, ‘This is my tradition, this is where I go.’”

Jinkx noted that they don’t take that power lightly. “It’s crazy sometimes, because you’re like, how did my dick jokes and blasphemous sexy Krampus number save you? But my job is not to question,” she said. “My job is to say thank you and I’m so glad that my work could do that for you.”

Caryn Ganz is The Times’s pop music editor. More about Caryn Ganz

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Netflix is giving comedy the live treatment . Sometimes that’s a good thing, as with John Mulaney’s variety show “Everybody’s in L.A.” But the Katt Williams special and Tom Brady roast were more uneven.

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Comedians, no strangers to tackling difficult and taboo subjects with humor, are increasingly turning their attention to the climate crisis .

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Jinkx Monsoon Gets Little Shop of Horrors Love from RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars Season 9 Cast (Exclusive)

PEOPLE was on hand at the hit Off-Broadway revival to see the sweet moment between the 'RuPaul's Drag Race' alums

Dave Quinn is a Senior Editor for PEOPLE. He has been working at the brand since 2016, and is the author of the No. 1 New York Times best-selling book, Not All Diamonds and Rosé: The Inside Story of the Real Housewives from the People Who Lived It.

Andy Henderson

The cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars season 9 came together on Tuesday, May 7 to celebrate the Drag Race Hall of Fame's Queen of Queens!

Angeria Paris VanMicheals , Gottmik , Jorgeous , Nina West , Plastique Tiara , Roxxxy Andrews , Shannel and Vanessa Vanjie gathered together at New York City's Westside Theater to see two-time  Drag Race  champ and trans-femme actor Jinkx Monsoon's celebrated turn in the Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors .

PEOPLE was in the audience, where former Drag Race guest judges Neil Patrick Harris  and  David Burtka were also in attendance with their 13-year-old twins, Harper Grace and Gideon Scott .

All were on their feet as they cheered on Monsoon, who is playing Skid Row sweetheart Audrey, opposite High School Musical alum Corbin Bleu as Seymour and James Carpinello as Orin.

Never miss a story — sign up for  PEOPLE's free daily newsletter  to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"I'm so proud of Jinkxy," Andrews, Monsoon's former season 5 castmate, tells PEOPLE. "We don't get to see each other often, so to come to see her in her prime and doing what she loves the most is an honor. She's just a genius at what she does. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"It's just nice to be back together," adds Andrews, noting the two have left the tension that was famously between them on the show well in the past. "That drama is all water off a duck's back, as Jinkx would say. We love each other so much. Sharing that kind of experience like Drag Race with each other, it bonds you for life. She'll always be my sister."

For West, seeing Monsoon on stage had a richer impact. Season 11's "Miss Congeniality" recently wrapped a two year run playing Edna Turnblad in the hit national tour of Hairspray , so is intimately aware of the challenges of working a grueling eight-show a week schedule.

"This isn't easy," says West. "I know how hard it is and I know how stressful it is, especially playing a role that's so iconic in the history of musical theatre. But Jinkx is a f------ star. She's able to let that pressure go, focus on the work, and do the job. And to be able to get to watch my friend do that is just incredible."

"It's also inspiring because Jinkx is a trailblazer," says West of Monsoon, who is the first trans actor and drag queen who has been cast to play Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production. "She's opening doors up for people like me to continue to push through and do roles that we always dreamt of. No doubt she's left an indelible mark on the role and the history of this show that will be appreciated for generations to come."

Monsoon, when asked about that very topic, notes that she's part of a long legacy.

"I may be the first of my ilk in this productions, but I'm following the lead of the really talented and wonderful drag performers and trans actors who have come before me," she says. "I feel like there was a road already paved for me. I'm just adding my bricks. It's exciting to be a part of that."

The performer comes to the musical after starring at Mama Morton in Broadway's Chicago , a role Monsoon will play again this summer after her time in Little Shop comes to an end.

Getting the call for Little Shop floored Monsoon, she tells PEOPLE. "I was convinced my agent got it wrong," Monsoon says, joking. "I was like, 'Are you sure you don't mean Aubrey II, the plant?' "

"But I was very, very thrilled," the reality star adds, praising the role, which was originated by  Ellen Greene in the first 1982 production. "She's kind of a like a daisy grown in a trash heap. Everybody likes the daisy who grows in the gutter."

Little Shop of Horrors  is based on the 1960 movie of the same name. Both tell the story of a down-on-his luck florist named Seymour who helps turn his boss’ plant shop around when he discovers a rare (and voracious) plant. He names the mysterious greenery Audrey II, after his co-worker and longtime crush, Audrey.

The property was adapted for the stage in 1982 by book writer Howard Ashman, who died in March 1991 at the age of 40 from his HIV/AIDS positive diagnosis. He also wrote the lyrics to Alan Menken's score, which included memorable musical theater tunes like "Suddenly Seymour" and "Somewhere That's Green."

A 1986 film adaptation, directed by Frank Oz and starring  Rick Moranis  and Greene, came amid the musical's Off-Broadway run. It became a cult classic, and helped fuel the popularity of community theater and high school productions of  Little Shop  for decades to come.

The current Off-Broadway revival — directed by Tony-winner Michael Mayer ( Spring Awakening ) and choreographed by Ellenore Scott ( Funny Girl ) — has been widely praised, winning top honors in 2020 from the Drama League, Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards.

World of Wonder

Meanwhile, season 9 of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars debuts on Paramount+ May 17.

The series is doing something different next season, bringing back eight queens to not only earn a coveted spot in the  Drag Race  Hall of Fame, but also to compete to win a supersized donation of $200,000 for a charity of their choosing.

That sum will be provided by  The Palette Fund , a private foundation that, according to a release, is "dedicated to breaking down barriers and advancing social change in communities that are under-resourced and facing significant challenges."

"It's all about giving back," says Shannel, the very first queen to ever walk into the workroom back in RuPaul's Drag Race 's initial season in 2009. "And that's what the show really has done for all of us; it's given us this incredible platform to really take our art to the next level. And we're all just fortunate to be able to use that opportunity to pay it forward to these organizations."

And Monsoon certainly gets the power of the platform, which has allowed them opportunities like Little Shop .

"This is essentially what I set out to do in drag," Monsoon says. "It's been very sweet and emotional to see people posting clips of me talking to RuPaul saying this is what I wanted to do with my career and my life and my being. And I'm doing it. And that's really exciting because I remember how important it was to me to see representation in my life, and how it inspired me and kept me going. So now that I get to be that for other people, that's a huge privilege."

Tickets for  Little Shop of Horrors  are available now at  littleshopnyc.com .

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Jinkx Monsoon promises 'the queerest season of 'Doctor Who' you've ever seen!'

Jinkx Monsoon has achieved more dreams than some even dare to have. The fan-adored drag queen has twice won RuPaul’s Drag Race , taking home the crown on both Season 5 and All-Stars Season 7. She's toured the globe with her collaborative bestie BenDeLaCreme with The Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Special , which is now available to rent or buy on Prime Video . And she's stomped the boards, first as Matron "Mama" Morton in Broadway's current iteration of Chicago , and right now as ingenue Audrey in off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors. Next, she's taking to all of space and time, joining Doctor Who Season 14 as the melodic and maleficent Maestro. 

So, after all her success, what's it like for Monsoon to get paid to say "timey-wimey," as she does in the episode "The Devil’s Chord"? In an interview with Mashable, she said, "It's really incredible. As a Doctor Who fan myself — and as a big fan of the David Tennant seasons — the fact that 'timey-wimey' was written into my dialogue felt like a special gift from [Season 14 showrunner] Russell [T Davies]. And I loved saying it. I'd say it for free. Getting paid was a bonus."

Jinkx Monsoon joins the Pantheon of Doctor Who foes. 

In "The Devil’s Chord," the Fifteenth Doctor ( Ncuti Gatwa ) and Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) face off against Monsoon's Maestro in 1960s England, just as the Beatles are primed to record their debut album. But amid their battles over music and the very future of mankind, the Maestro (who uses they/them pronouns) drops all kinds of tantalizing teasers about their origins. Child of the Toymaker from the Doctor Who special "The Giggle," the Maestro declares themselves part of the Pantheon, noting, "There are vast powers beyond the universe." Then, before being trapped in a piano ( but not just any piano!) , the Maestro cackles a warning: "The One Who Waits is almost here!" 

What does all this mean? More specifically, how much did Davies reveal to Monsoon about what this foe's cryptic lines refer to? "Just what's pertinent," Monsoon explained over a Zoom interview. "I can tell you, from the experience I have working on sci-fi, nothing has ever been so close-lipped and secretive. And I love that. It's a special challenge as an actor to only have little bits."

But even if Monsoon can't spill the tea on the Maestro's mysterious proclamations, she had plenty of clues to pull from to create the character. "Luckily, Russell's an incredible writer, and everything you need is in the text,” she said, adding that the Maestro’s origins —  which tap into Greek mythology and Lovecraftian horror — gave her plenty to work with.

The door is open for me and for other drag entertainers and trans entertainers and visibly queer people to come in and start claiming our space in front of the camera and onstage.

"I had tropes that I could draw from for inspiration. But essentially, as an actor, if you're worth your salt, " she emphasized by affecting a salty dame voice, "You should be able to just get everything you need from the script and infer enough to perform effectively."

And boy, does she. Within "The Devil’s Chord," Monsoon unleashes a performance that proves her a force of nature. As an influence in audacious villainy , she cited Michelle Gomez , whose thrillingly menacing Missy rattled the Twelfth Doctor (Peter Capaldi) from 2014-2017. Then, she celebrated the current cast and crew. "It was just so exciting to work with people who were so game to try so much," Monsoon said, referring to the experimentation that went into choreographing the final music battle. "They do take after take because they too wanted to do it the best they possibly could." 

Jinkx Monsoon looks back on her path from Drag Race to Doctor Who.

Reflecting on her work on Doctor Who, Monsoon mused, "When you're working at a certain level, the likelihood that everyone there is there because they want to be — and there because they're passionate about this — is much higher. And when you're in a room full of people who have all set their egos aside to put on the best show possible? I'm experiencing that right now in Little Shop. I experienced it with Chicago and Doctor Who . It is such an honor as a performer to get to work with other people who just really love what they do and want to do it to the best of their ability."

Monsoon has come a long way since the days of muttering the mantra "Water off a duck’s back" while buffering the bullying of Drag Race contenders. Notably, she and Drag Race Season 5 rival Roxxxy Andrews recently "squashed" their beef with a meme-centric Instagram post . So, with so many crowns won and mountains climbed, what's next for Jinkx Monsoon?

"I feel like I can go anywhere now," she said. "Like, I used to feel so limited, because drag was my chosen medium. You know, when I was in acting school, I thought I had to give up drag to be an effective working actor. And that just didn't end up being true for me. Because immediately after college, I was playing female roles in theater."

The transfeminine actor, who publicly came out as trans in 2017, continued, "Some directors just always saw me in me, even before I saw me in me — you know what I mean?... So, I said to myself, 'You don't have to give up drag to be an actor; you can marry the two.'"

Monsoon admitted, "It's been a long journey to do that to the level I've gotten to do it recently. But every step along the way has been fulfilling." A highlight of which she's particularly proud is The Jinkx and DeLa Holiday Special . "I was putting really good work into that as an actor, as a writer, as a creator, as a performer," she explained. "That [pride is] what gave me the mojo that I'm now taking into everything. There's something about creating my own thing that made me feel like no matter what happens in my career, this is something I'm really proud of. And this feels like it's met the goals I wanted to meet as a performer. So it was almost like going into All Stars ; I had nothing to lose, because I had everything I had worked towards already."

Since All-Stars, Monsoon counts herself lucky to be offered roles that have "all been a perfect fit," referring to Mama Morton, Audrey, and the Maestro. "I feel like the door is open for me and for other drag entertainers and trans entertainers and visibly queer people to come in and start claiming our space in front of the camera and onstage," Monsoon declared. "We've always been here. We've always been a part of the entertainment community. We've just not been able to be as vocal and as honest as we're getting to be now.

"And honestly," Monsoon said with a smile, "I think with every swing the conservative right takes at us , entertainment goes, 'You know what, we see you, and we raise you the queerest season of Doctor Who you've ever seen!' And really, it's just gonna be incredible. I'm so excited for people to see it. It's such an amazing show. And this new iteration of it is just like, fresh and exciting and so full of potential and possibilities."

How to watch: Doctor Who streams Friday, May 10 at 7:00 p.m. ET on Disney+, where available, and simultaneously on May 11 at midnight on BBC iPlayer in the UK.

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Jinkx Monsoon Is Right on Time

Doctor who ’s newest nemesis discusses “straight fame,” broadway success, and how she’s become the maestro of her own life..

Jinkx Monsoon is no stranger to firsts. As the first contestant to win RuPaul’s Drag Race not once but twice (the second as the “Queen of All Queens” in an All Stars season), Monsoon was also the first queen to bring Little Edie of Grey Gardens fame to the iconic Snatch Game segment and the first to doze off in the confessional booth. More recently, she became the first  drag performer to portray Matron “Mama” Morton in a record-breaking run of the musical Chicago on Broadway. This month, in addition to being the first trans woman to star as Audrey in the current off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors , she will become the first drag artist to appear in Doctor Who . In the new season of the beloved British series, which hits Disney+ Friday, she plays a heinous villain named Maestro, decked in a black cape with a piano key–patterned collar , an orange wig, and blood-red lipstick. The whole look gives suitably camp Bette Midler–in– Hocus Pocus –meets–Glenn Close’s–Cruella de Vil vibes.

How did an American drag legend ended up being cast in TV’s longest-running sci-fi production, a show that has been airing on the BBC intermittently since 1963? Russell T. Davies, who also wrote shows like Queer as Folk and It’s a Sin , was the original showrunner and head writer of Doctor Who ’s 2005 revival. He wrote for the series until 2010, and returned in 2023.

“I’m such a big Russell T. Davies fan—we’ve been friends for many years,” Monsoon said, explaining that Davies got the idea for her Doctor Who character after seeing her show Together Again, Again! , in which she plays herself in her 80s.

“So, here’s this drag queen getting in the mind of this prolific writer who writes for a predominantly straight audience who probably don’t even realize the person in charge of their favorite sci-fi show is queer,” she said. “And so this wonderful thing is happening where people from the straight, heteronormative world are finding out their favorite things were created by queer people. Queer people have been in entertainment the whole time, but we’re just only recently getting to be very loud and vocal about it.”

Slate caught up with Jinkx Monsoon between shows to chat about Doctor Who , her views on transphobes, and what it means to be straight famous. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Slate: The Drag Race fandom is well versed in your acting prowess, but you’re what’s known as “straight famous” now. What has that been like? Jinx Monsoon: I guess I am! In Chicago and Little Shop , some nights we’ve had Drag Race fan–heavy audiences, but we’ve also had high school groups, and they’re just as enthusiastic! That’s something my head is still trying to wrap itself around: I have straight high school student fans, straight male fans. That’s crazy to me because I remember the straight boys in high school being fucking bullies. And now we’re at a time, 20 years later, where a queer trans person can be straight famous. It’s really surreal and beautiful, and I don’t want to question it! I just want to fight to keep it going.

As a queer transfemme person operating in the mainstream in this political climate, how do you feel about the backlash against the roles you’re taking on? It feels frustrating to constantly have to justify your existence when other people don’t have to explain why they are where they are. It doesn’t feel good that there are people out there who don’t want you to exist, who don’t want you to succeed or to have the same rights. But I also have tons of hope because those people are shrinking in numbers. This is the first time in my lifetime that I’ve experienced popular opinion being in favor of the queer community, and that gives me a lot of hope. And it gives me hope because I know the younger generations see through the bullshit that is heteronormativity, they see through the tyrannical gender norms that we’ve been forced to live by.

Everyone is damaged by it. Even the people who appear to be benefiting from it, those are the most damaged people. They’ve lost their humanity.

What kind of response to Maestro are you expecting from the traditional Doctor Who fans? Russell T. Davies brought Doctor Who to everyone. He brought it back because he was passionate about it. To the people who have issues: The show that you love was created by a queer person. Get over it! A lot of people are going to really love this, and I think this season is going to create a lot of new Doctor Who fans. And if we lose some of the transphobic ones, don’t let the door hit you on the way out!

There’s a lot of toxicity around the gender and the trans conversation. In the ’70s, it was the conversation of queerness, the gay conversation. We overcame it once and we’ll overcome it again. To the people who are upset about it, boohoo, cry your fucking tears. It’s not your world exclusively. We all live here, so get over yourself!

I know a lot of people might not even watch this season of Doctor Who because it’s taking such a decisively queer step. However, if they watch it, I think they’ll see that we’re just actors playing characters. And if they don’t watch it, then who needs ’em? I truly believe that for every fan we lose to transphobia, we’re going to have two to three more coming in because they’re excited for trans representation.

You have recently started being far more vocal about your own identity and gender journey. How has your self-conception evolved over the years?

It’s never been difficult sharing who I was with the outside world. I think for so long the only one limiting my gender expression was me. I always knew I was feminine. I always knew I resonated with feminine energy. My whole life has been about negotiating how to get enough of that. As I’ve aged and grown, my need for my feminine identity has changed and grown. It’s funny, and I’ve talked to a lot of other trans women about this too, and it seems like, somewhere in your mind, you know you’re going to transition eventually—you’re just waiting for the time when it feels right.

For me, I first came out as nonbinary, and then it was like, OK, I can work with this. I’m expressing myself more femininely. People are calling me they/them instead of he/him—this feels right. And then, after a while, I was like, You know what? I really just want to be seen as feminine. So I started dressing and presenting much more feminine. And the more I did, the more it felt like I was stepping into who I always saw myself as. When I recently made the decision to begin my medical transition, it just felt like I had taken another step in the direction I was already going. It’s like I’ve essentially been transitioning at a snail’s pace since I was, like, 25.

I identify as a transfeminine person, as a trans woman. I don’t even really identify as a woman. My transness is my gender identity. I’ve always been me. I am just changing the frame.

To what extent do you think drag has brought you to where you are today?

I think it’s similar to a lot of people’s story, and it’s why I think drag is so powerful. When I first discovered drag, I knew there was something about me that was not being expressed. I’ve basically known my whole life that I wanted to be a woman, but it was about negotiating that with what I thought was possible. At first I was into acting because I could play different characters. But then I realized all the characters I wanted to play were female, but I was perceived as male. I started doing drag at age 15 because it allowed me to play male roles in my high school play and the roles I really wanted on the weekend, at the drag club.

In acting school and later in local theater in Seattle, directors started casting me in female roles because of my drag experience. They weren’t leading ladies, more like character roles: Velma Von Tussle in Hairspray , Mistress Quickly in Henry V . But to get to where I’m at now, it has required a lot of chipping away at things and a lot of working against the stigma of being a drag queen. We’ve been put in a subset of entertainment for so long, but what we’re doing is no different from any other performer. We are just doing it in drag.

When someone eventually gave me the chance, there was the pressure of, like, OK, put your money where your mouth is, baby! Luckily, it was an objective success. And I only hope that audiences are ready to celebrate this and to see authentic representation of all different types of people. Can you tell us about your chosen name, Hera?

So, Hera is the queen of the gods in Greek mythology. When I was an awkward, lonely child, because of being so obviously queer, I was really into Greek mythology. And maybe it was because she was the queen of the gods, but Hera was always my favorite.

My birth had been very traumatic. Both my mom and I almost passed when she was giving birth to me. So the name she chose for me was significant, and I was really nervous about how she’d take it when I told her I wanted to change it. I was trying to think of something that incorporated letters or sounds from my given name, Jerick, and I was playing with Jira. I told my assistant, who knows about my love of Greek mythology, and he goes, “Oh, just name yourself Hera—you know you want to.” And I went, “Oh my God, I do!” And that was that. And she’s the queen of the gods.

You’ve been quoted saying that Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors is your dream role. Now that you’ve made it happen, what’s your next milestone?

Lately, the one that has been most on my mind is Sweet Charity . Charity in Sweet Charity just keeps coming up. And I don’t know, but when something keeps coming up, it’s usually a sign that I need to lean into it. So, if it keeps coming up, I’m going to take that sign.

Everything seems to be happening at once for you, in the sense that you are taking on some pretty big roles while also undergoing a major personal transformation. How are you coping?

I was really nervous about it, honestly. I had my facial feminization surgery in February, and when I started rehearsing [for Little Shop of Horrors ] in March, I still didn’t have full mobility of my jaw and mouth. So I was having trouble getting all my lyrics out, or my mouth would kind of lock up on a line. So I was definitely nervous.

Now all the nerves are gone because this has actually been a beautiful moment of synchronicity and coalescence. I can’t tell you how amazing it feels to take my estrogen before showtime and then get onstage every night and sing the words “Learn how to be more the girl that’s inside me.” It feels like this beautiful moment! I never could have guessed that A) this would all be happening at the same time and B) it would all be perfect. I feel very fortunate and full of gratitude, and I’m knocking on wood constantly because I’m scared something’s going to come along to break up this good thing. But right now I’m having the time of my life.

Update, May 10, 2024: Due to a transcription error, this interview originally quoted Monsoon as saying that the upcoming Doctor Who season would take “a decisively weird step.” She said “a decisively queer step.”

Doctor Who star Jinkx Monsoon on playing 'zany' villain Maestro

• Published 2 days ago

The Daleks, Weeping Angels and The Family of Blood. Just some of the fierce enemies Doctor Who has encountered over the years.

But now Ncuti Gatwa's incarnation of the Time Lord is facing a new adversary and perhaps the most powerful villain yet.

American drag queen Jinkx Monsoon, who plays the new nemesis, tells BBC Newsbeat her "dreams have been granted in a wonderful way".

Jinkx is known as the "Queen of Queens" after winning a regular and All Star season of RuPaul's Drag Race.

And she says moving to the world's longest-running science fiction show felt like a natural progression for a self-described trans queer actor.

"Sci-fi has always been queer. Anyone who tells you otherwise is delusional," she says.

"There are prominent writers, directors, producers who are queer in these fields. And it just hasn't really been able to be talked about and a lot of them nowadays are done being silent."

She adds there has been "so much queer progress" in society, but feels in the entertainment industry "there's still been this thing of queer people behind the cameras".

"And only certain palatable society-approved queer people get to be in front of the camera.

"What I really love about this Doctor Who season is it saying: 'To hell with that'."

Jinkx praises the show and the crew for the way she was made to feel right at home.

"Being a trans feminine performer who's known as a drag queen, it's like they wanted me to feel comfortable and well-represented in all of the costumes."

She says she "loved everything" the design team came up with.

"They definitely took into account that when you're a drag performer, people look at your costumes with a magnifying glass.

"Because that's a big part of how we work - our presentation.

"So they knew that everyone was going to really have high hopes and expectations for this character, and they all really delivered."

That's not to say Jinkx was shy about putting her own stamp on the character's look.

She says: "I did the actor thing of saying 'yes… and what if we added this?'"

"And they were really receptive."

When you think of a typical villain in TV shows, there can be a certain menace attached to evil characters.

But Doctor Who often does it differently.

"What's really exciting about this episode is that it's not jam-packed action, but it's zany and musical… almost like Doctor Who directed by Bugs Bunny.

"There's surprises and lots of music. It's a fun premise, the villain is over the top - just like everything you want in a powerful villain.

"We also see how important music is to our world. We get a glimpse at what life could be like without music and how sad and dreary that would be," she says.

Jinkx has come off a run on Broadway in the US, playing Matron "Mama" Morton in its longest-running show Chicago and breaking box office records in an extended eight-week run.

"As an actor, I had a list of things I wanted to do in my lifetime," she says.

"I wanted to play a Disney villain and have magical powers."

"Of course I know I've put in the work through the years. So it didn't happen out of nowhere, but the fact it's happening at all is just surreal and magical."

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Doctor Who: Varada Sethu confirmed as new companion

Doctor Who may already have a passionate and dedicated fanbase, but Jinkx is excited about the possibility of bringing in new fans with this latest version of Doctor Who.

It's the first set of episodes since the show's partnership with Disney+ and a push to get more American viewers.

"One of the great things about the Doctor changing, is we get to see this character we love and know, but through different perspectives throughout their journey," says Jinkx.

"So I think the way we keep things fresh is by changing the perspective.

"For anyone new, it totally welcomes you in and gives you everything you need to know.

"The lore of Doctor Who is deepening, we're getting a whole new layer of the universe opening up to us. And anything's possible really."

Back-to-back episodes of Doctor Who will air on BBC One on Saturday 11 May from 18:20

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here .

Related Topics

• RuPaul's Drag Race

More on this story

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Watch Jinkx Monsoon Transform Into the Villainous Maestro in New ‘Doctor Who’ Clip

The episode of the hit British sci-fi series will be available to watch Friday at 7 p.m. ET on Disney+, and Saturday at midnight on BBC iPlayer in the UK.

By Stephen Daw

Stephen Daw

Pride Editor

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If Jinkx Monsoon has proved anything over the last few years, it’s that she’s a bit of a chameleon. Whether she’s performing as a corrupt jail warden or a bombshell leading lady, the drag star can play just about anyone — including the embodiment of music itself.

Jinkx Monsoon Is Making Her Carnegie Hall Debut in 2025: ‘I’m Thrilled and Humbled and Ready…

Trending on billboard.

They continue, letting the onlooking Drake know that he is “the greatest composer who ever lived.” As they continue to menacingly pull on Drake’s heartstrings, Maestro finally explodes into a tirade about the difficulty of the artistic process.

“But it’s so sad , Timothy — you never had the luck! You never got that break,” they declare. “All those melodies, stifled and strangled inside you.”

The upcoming episode revolves around the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and his companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) traveling back in time to 1960s London in order to meet The Beatles, only to encounter the “all-powerful” Maestro seeking to change the course of history. Speaking to Doctor Who Magazine in April, Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies gave audiences a teaser for what they can expect from Monsoon’s appearance on the show, teasing her character as a “maleficent god” and “a deity with daddy issues.”

Meanwhile, Monsoon is continuing her run as Audrey in the off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors , before she’s set to rejoin the cast of Broadway’s Chicago on June 27 as Matron “Mama” Morton.

The first two episodes of Doctor Who season 14 (including “The Devil’s Chord”) premiere Friday on Disney+ at 7 p.m. ET and Saturday at midnight on BBC iPlayer in the UK. Check out the exclusive new clip featuring Jinkx Monsoon below:

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